


epistles

by Aenqa



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Fluff, Antarctic Empire, Drama, Family Relationship - Freeform, Gen, Humor, Letters, War, l'manburg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:00:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29887683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aenqa/pseuds/Aenqa
Summary: No matter how difficult the separation may be, I can’t shake the notion that it’ll all be well worth the trouble. If only you could see your grandson, lit by the sun, romping through the sloping heather fields of our new nation. A nation built on fairness, justice, equality of men. I hope you’d be proud.With love,Wilbur.Letters from L'Manburg.
Relationships: Floris | Fundy & Wilbur Soot, Wilbur Soot & Phil Watson, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Comments: 25
Kudos: 147





	1. the smp

**Author's Note:**

> > **Phil:** _"I got letters from Wilbur telling me what he'd been up to... And then the letters stopped. I got worried, so I started to make my way over to this area... right to worry, apparently."_
> 
> From Phil's most recent Dream SMP stream. These are Wilbur's letters.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An envelope addressed from an unfamiliar location with familiar handwriting. The paper is yellowing with age, but the carefully-written words are still clear, written in clean cursive script.

Hello, Phil!

Been a while, hasn't it? I’ve been on the move recently and haven’t had much time to send more than a postcard. I hope you liked the one from Newfoundland, though. How about that bridge, eh?

I’m sending this to you now because I’ve set down in a place I think I’ll stay for a while. It’s nice here; quiet, mostly empty. A lot of potential. I’ve built a house on this little peninsula, a swath of land with trees and hills and the prettiest little river you’ve ever seen. There's an ocean, though the beach isn't exactly vacation material, and a mountain to the west that covers us in lovely shade in the evenings. There’s something about this place, Dad. I don’t know how quite to describe it, but I like it.

The only real irritant so far is this kid who keeps following me around like he’s a lost puppy. I’m not exactly looking for a babysitting gig, and I’m especially not looking for a fight, which seems to follow this boy in spades. He’s like a little human hurricane. Whatever – you know how mean I can get. I’m sure he’ll get lost soon enough.

I hope you write me back at this location – I want to hear about everything that’s happened in the Empire since I’ve been gone. I heard news of the end of the war. Are you enjoying peacetime, or are you going mad with boredom? How’s old Techno? I hope Floof is still hanging in there. Have you seen Mom recently? I’m sure you have. I even ran into her once or twice on my travels.

Dad – I know the last conversation we had ended on a sour note, but I hope you know I miss you. It’s not my time to return to the Empire. After what happened, I don’t know if it ever will be. But I’m going to make something of myself out here. I’m going to make you proud.

With love,

Wilbur.


	2. fundy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The letter is slightly crumpled, the print a little messier and informal. Still pressed within the envelope are a few dead, brittle flowers.

Phil,

Ha! Take this. Your doubt in my ability to stay in place for more than a few weeks has fueled me out of spite. I’m still here, and you can count on a few more letters from this location, at least.

Good to hear from the old homestead. Tell Techno to pick up a hobby. He needs to learn to do things with his hands that aren’t maiming and killing his enemies. Gardening, maybe? If anyone can make something live in Antarctica, it’ll be him. Here – I’ll send a few cuttings. So much grows, here – the soil is rich and the air is warm. It’s beautiful, really.

I have news for you – big news! Massive, news, really, I can’t believe I’ve gotten this far without blurting it out all over the page.

I’m a dad. A father. Which makes you a grandfather. _Ha!_ How about that, then? You feeling old yet? Old Man Philza. Who would have thought?

I know, I know – this probably comes as a shock. It’s hard to explain how it happened, but I found a little fox child, a kit, alone and in need of protection. I took him in, and he took to me so quickly, I didn’t know how to tell him to leave! So… I didn’t. He’s growing quickly – I guess fox hybrids grow up quicker than us humans? He’s lived with me for a few weeks, now, and Dad – Dad, I swear, I’ve never been happier in my life. We live in this little cabin in the woods, we farm the land and make our own way. It’s peaceful, it’s simple. It’s happy. I’m happy.

Tommy still comes by – that’s the annoying child I spoke of last time. He and his friend, Tubbo, they make enough trouble for things to stay interesting. We have good neighbors, good trade, and the land – oh, the land. The land is something special.

How did you know to stop, when you reached Antarctica? What called you to _that_ spot? I never understood it back in the day, especially during the storms, the winters, when the air went numb with cold and the snow would keep us all indoors for months. But now, I think I might understand. This land – it isn’t perfect; the weather changes on a dime, and the summer air is a little too humid to be comfortable, and it borders an ocean with rocky shores that are difficult to dock. Yet something about it calls to me. Something about it feels _right._ Something inside of my chest, some central nerve, is telling me to stay.

Which is to say: you can expect _many_ more letters from this location.

I’m sending you a picture of your grandson. Meet Fundy. He already misses you. As do I, always.

With love,

Wilbur.


	3. tyranny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the back of this envelope, Phil's own scrawl notes down: _William Blackstone_

Phil,

I had to practically tear that picture of you and Techno out of Fundy’s paws. He stared at it til his eyeballs nearly fell out. We have it framed in the kitchen, now, so he can see it whenever he likes. He had me tell him all the stories of the old days until I was blue in the face. So, you two are officially his heroes. Expect a small amount of friendly mauling, whenever we’re able to visit. 

Ah – to the point. When you write back, would you mind attaching some descriptions of the judicial system in the Empire? I remember things vaguely enough, but it’s hard to remember specifics, and my books only describe the ancient systems – judges and lawyers, the like. I need some more modern reading material.

There’s a sort of… I guess it’s not a formal government, but I’d call it a police force, here. A few people who live in the area, named Dream, Sapnap and George, fancy themselves the owners of the land and enforcers of the law. Well, I haven’t found any of their _laws_ in writing, and I don’t know who’s deciding them. But they figured Tommy broke some of those rules and they locked him up, no trial, no process, nothing. It’s not like I’m trying to be the kid’s protector, but that certainly doesn’t sit right with me. And I certainly don’t agree to them enforcing those unwritten laws against me, if they ever try.

What is that quote, that I remember from my studies? Arbitrary imprisonment – a thing so terrible and egregious that it must “at once convey the alarm of tyranny.” Who said that again - was it Jefferson? Well, you know me and tyranny.

Anyway – I’d appreciate the information. Hope all is well in the South.

With love,

Wilbur.


	4. l'manburg

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This envelope was closed with a red wax seal. The paper is thick and heavy, and the handwriting uses flourishes.

To Emperor Philza, Divine Ruler of the Antarctic Empire and its Territories, the Angel of Death and Conqueror of Worlds:

Greetings and Salutations! from the newest nation to grace the face of the earth. You may direct all further correspondence to President Wilbur of L’Manburg. (Ah – the name, I know. Blame Tommy, please. Although, I must admit, I think it captures the spirit of our nation. A bit stupid, a bit scrappy.)

I've cordoned off my little peninsula into its own independent territory. The political materials you sent me were right helpful. The more I thought about it and the more I spoke to Dream, the de facto leader of the other land, the more I realized they’d never change. They were never going to agree to a more democratic process of deciding things. ~~And if I can’t even bring myself to abide by _your_ absolute rule, I certainly won’t submit to a random man in a green hoodie and a mask.~~

Sorry. Probably hit a bit of a sore spot there. I’d start the letter over entirely, but we’ve got to ration our goods these days. Even the paper.

So. Me, Tommy, Tubbo, Fundy (who’s grown so quickly he’s practically a teenager), and a few others – we’re starting our own country. They're good men, all of them. Tommy and Tubbo, the bravest and most loyal little revolutionaries you could ask for. 

Right now, I’m sitting on the porch of my little house, watching the walls go up around our country as I write. It’s summer, here – the forest is thick with green, the sun is bright. We have everything we need right on this spot. We’ll be able to trade with Dream’s SMP, hopefully – I don’t know how much they know about our newfound independence, but hopefully we’ll smooth over our old differences. It’ll take some careful negotiating, but if there was ever anything I was good at back home, it was speaking with skill. You’d remember that. How many times did I manage to persuade you to let me out of sparring practice again…?

No matter how difficult the separation, I can’t shake the notion that it’ll all be well worth the trouble. If only you could see your grandson, lit by the warm setting sun, running through the sloping heather fields of our new country. A country built on fairness, justice, equality of men. I hope you’d be proud.

I hear Tommy calling for me and should attend to my duties. I’ll speak with you again soon.

In solidarity,

President Wilbur.


	5. revolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inside the wax-sealed envelope, several diagrams of L'Manburg are carefully folded, full of scribbles from several pens. This letter is worn, the ink smudged, apparently read again and again.

Emperor Phil –

Your letter was prophetic. More prophetic than you know.

New war has broken fresh. We are in the early days, familiar and foreign to me at once. I remember the uncertainty, the constant pull of tension, the sharpness of the air during the first few weeks of conflict. There is the strong feeling that anything could happen at any moment.

But I have never been in charge of a war effort as I am today. I have never felt the burden of this responsibility.

How have you borne it, all these years?

Dream has declared war on our country, claiming this land as rightfully his. Where he got this notion, I do not know, but I will not submit to it. They are well-armored, strong of mind and body, and full of fury. A deadly combination. We are mostly young, mostly poor, and mostly driven by passion and ideals alone. This, too, is a deadly combination in its own right.

We have some advantages: our walls were completed several weeks ago and afford us some protection. If nothing else, we can live off of our land, holding them away from our borders. But I fear the conflict – so far, confined to skirmishes – will escalate. I fear Dream is an angrier man than I initially measured him to be. I fear that Tommy, Tubbo, and Fundy - all still children - are not prepared for the realities of war. Then again, youth was never a barrier for you and Techno, was it? They're tough. They'll be fine. 

If you have time, I would appreciate if you and Techno reviewed the battle plans I have included with this letter. I am drawing on my education, but you know as well as I that the last time I got close to a command, it ended in disaster.

Disaster cannot happen again. The stakes were high last time and now they are even higher. I fight not for your empire but for my life, for the life of my son, for the life of my friends. For our freedom, for our nation. I intend to stay to the last. This is my home, my country. I have staked claim and will not budge.

In the past several weeks I have thought often about what you would say, how you would act, what you would decide. I hear your voice in my head more often than you might think. Your letters should be worn through from how often I reread them. 

With love,

Wilbur.

**Author's Note:**

> More letters will be posted soon - probably in batches, like the first five! Go ahead and subscribe or bookmark if you want to see more, and thanks for reading so far :) 
> 
> [tumblr](https://aenqa.tumblr.com) / [twitter](https://twitter.com/aenqa1)


End file.
